One of the sculptures in Toronto artist Eldon Garnet’s latest work, Inversion, at the new James Cooper Mansion condo complex on Sherbourne Street below Bloor.

Wild in the city: A moose was the last thing I expected to see while walking past the new James Cooper Mansion condo building on Sherbourne the other day.

I was on the opposite side of the street, approaching from more than a hundred feet away, when a tall stainless steel platform standing beside the south wall of the historic mansion caught my eye. I could see that a sculpture was mounted on it, but I couldn’t tell what it was — a moose walking down the shiny vertical surface — until I got closer. That’s when I noticed that the antlered acrobat wasn’t alone: nearby were sculptures of other wild animals, including a deer and some fierce-faced gravity-defying wolves and foxes.

Entitled “Inversion,” the captivating sculptures are the work of Eldon Garnet, a Toronto-based artist, photographer, sculptor and writer.  A heritage plaque explains that Inversion “is a commentary and a reflection on our urban interaction with nature. Not long ago, the wilderness was considered somewhat threatening and something we should fortify ourselves against. Today, our relationship with nature has turned into a nostalgic yearning to embrace something that no longer exists.”

So very true, though I think that, nowadays, some of the sketchy people wandering our downtown streets look far more menacing than the snarling, ferocious wolf  hanging upside down on the Sherbourne Street side of the mansion!

Garnet’s sculptures were stealing glances from a few curious and amused passersby on Thursday, but most pedestrians rushed past without appearing to notice the art. But the creatures will be hard to miss once the chainlink fence surrounding the condo property is removed (which should be soon, since building occupancy begins next month).

Below are photos of the mansion and Garnet’s work; at bottom is an adjustable slideshow of James Cooper Mansion condos construction from start to finish.

 

Look closely to see a moose, two wolves and a doe outside the mansion at the new James Cooper Mansion condos on Sherbourne Street.